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The Generoso Mountain - Switzwerland
- May 2005 |
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- Monday May 2nd, 2005
- 10:30 am
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We arrive to Arogno
(above the Lugano lake in Switzerland).
Stefano together
with a colleague of him of the Hearth Science Institute were waiting for
us. We unload all the team bailout cylinders from our car. These
cylinders will remain inside the cave for the next few days. They get
immediately ready for diving and help us to transport all the cylinders
to the cave entrance. In the meantime Lorenzo arrives, he will be busy
during the next three days to take some pictures. We also get dressed
with our dry suites and go diving up to the tight passage at -87 meters
to set some bailout cylinders. Jean Jacques dives around the cave for
reconnaissance while Lorenzo informs that he will wait for us during our
return to make some pictures. |
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Gigi
and I get ready,
we make the pre-dive checks of our rebreathers (we both use the Voyager
rebreather). While I get dressed, I see Lorenzo preparing his
underwater camera and Jean
Jacques who is checking his rebreather (during the next days Jean Jacques
will still use his passive SCR since he only has few diving hours
with the Voyager rebreather).
I carry my
underwater housing video so that we can begin making some films of
the cave.
We go, the
water temperature is 8-9°C. For me it was
the first time, I never dived the Bossi cave before. The beginning
is very nice, the cave entrance is very tight, we are obliged to
pass by rolling away some rocks and stones, it is really beautiful.
I am worried
for my housing lens so I stop to find a better way but....uselessly.
Then I
decide to make all the tight passage in reverse
(and that is what I will do during the next four days), that is
entering feet first so that I can protect my video camera lens from
scratches. |
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After few
meters from the entrance, the cave
appears quite wide and easy. Some other small passages obliges me to
lock my video lights but in general, the cave is quite broad to
allow me to work
comfortably with my big video housing (I use a Canon XM2 video
camera with an
Isotta underwater housing).
The cave
exhales all its usual glamour,
every time
that I dive inside the heart belly is a unique feeling, only that
cave is able to transmit so much fear to me!
The
absolute dark and the silence favored by
the fact that we use our CCR rebreathers is infinite!
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(tight passage at the cave
maximum depth of approx. - 87 meters) |
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"Obliged" to live
these experiences behind a monitor (I always dive watching
everything from the external monitor of my video camera), I always
remain enchanted by the impressive sculptures that the nature can
make.
It is amazing to see
what there is inside a "flooded" hole,
how many fascinating passages exist, which drawings our mother
nature is able to do inside the bowels of the hearth.....
Time expands,
the external world suddenly disappears taking all its noise, the
sounds of its daily life with him to leave the space to the nature
or better to the Hearth sounds.
Inside the belly of the
Generoso Mountain!!
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(the way
beyond the tight passage) |
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| Gigi checks if our bailout
cylinders are ok, he checks and sets the line, fixes a little here, a little
there,
it seems to look at a good family father who controls and set the safety
course with his responsible awareness that, for someone, this course
line could mean "life".... thanks Gigi!
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| We arrive early. Gigi and
myself decide to go
"behind" to see if everything is in order to go on from where Gigi
left the previous time he dived there. We get dressed, we make all our
usual pre-dive rebreather checks and, let's go! |
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I start
first with my staunch video since I proceed slower for the first 20 meters
not to destroy my housing. I wait for Gigi that is very punctual as
always and we start.
Swimming
meter by meter (sometimes it is difficult to me to keep the
extremely high Gigi's pace), we arrive to the tight passage and then
up, on the other side!
The cave
is shaped like a " V " which arrives
up to approx. -90 meters of depth at approx. 420 meters of
penetration from the entrance to exit in a not too large aerial
chamber.
To go out
from the cave, we need to return to the main entrance by running the same way that means diving
again at a depth of - 90 meters.
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(a cave
passage)
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When the
goal of my dive (as it is in this case)
is to be able to make a "decent" video film or pictures, often I try
to be distant and professional to succeed to shut all the main and
most important moments.
The
individual who does not like photography often does not understand
the operator's mind. When
everything is finished, when everybody's at home, everybody is
waiting to see the job, to see the images of this important moment.
The operator knows that other people are looking for something from
him!
Usually I
become one thing with my video camera,
with it often I "see" beforehand the job finished and I imagine my
buddies' looks.
This time,
the event is even more important. As far
as we know, nobody never went behind the Bossi cave with a video
camera or even with a camera. Everybody is in a state of agitation,
everybody is waiting to see my job, the channel 1 of the Swiss
national TV called saying that they will be there the next day,
asking for the underwater film to show on TV as a national preview.
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Everybody is waiting for
my film, the Hearth Science Institute
with which we had the honor to cooperate for this enterprise, the
residents ...
everybody is waiting to
see the images.
... and the images
arrived!
It is with my great
satisfaction that I show you these images taken from almost four
hours of underwater film.
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(Jean Jacques Bolanz
who arrives to the aerial cave of the Generoso
Mountain belly) |
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| We arrive to the cave place
and, waiting for us we see.... the world!! People
passed the word and the small road is invaded by TV teams and people from
local radios and TVs, all wanted to see my images. For us it was a resting
day, I solo dived up to the fork (approx. - 60 meters), Gigi dived together
with Lorenzo to take some pictures, Jean Jacques today did not dive at all.
All our attention was focused to the day after, when we would have tried to
continue the exploration. |
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| We arrive to the Bossi
cave around 10:00 am but we can only dive around 11:30 am because of the
huge amount of equipment that we must prepare to carry with us. |
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We reach the aerial cave
at 1:00 pm because it takes about 50
minutes between dive and decompression. We take out our rebreathers
and begin to climb to our first "base camp" located about ten meters
above the sea water level, then we begin to transport our spelean
equipment.
We were hungry but
before eating, Gigi
tried to continue the exploration of the second siphon who left some
time before (see the left picture).
After that, we listened
to our hunger and we organized our
camp......
a picnic in a cave!!
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(Gigi who
tries to continue in the second siphon) |
(Gigi who
tries to continue in the second siphon) | |
| Gigi, Jean Jacques
and myself, all came out the water at 9:00 pm.
So tired but really
happy ......
.......and the adventure
will go on!
until there will be
people eager to explore the unknown,
until technology will improve allowing to show new things, things
never seen to the majority of all.
For me, it has been a
great honor to be there.
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Articles |
(Jean Jacques Bolanz
at the return) |
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© www.rebreather.it |
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